Tuesday, April 15, 2008

No, No. Not Streit

There's an elephant in the room.

And, all people can talk about is Mark Streit.

After listening to the Habs Inside/Out Puckcast and reading this from Francois Gagnon, I am amazed about the Streit backlash.

Even if you're one of those reporters who relies entirely on stats to remember what happened two games ago, it would be hard work making a case that Streit has been the worst player on the Canadiens. If you have been watching the games intently like 95% of the population of Montreal, then, in my opinion, the case would be even harder to make.

Come on everyone, this elephant is right there to see.

As bad as the top two lines have been, Lapierre's linemates have been almost completely useless on the ice, especially when you consider part of their job is to create offense. Sustained pressure is not a phrase we have heard with that trio. Even RDS almost acknowledged it – Pednault had to cover up Guillaume's squandered puck possession (weak shot to the goalie) in OT, calling it the way to play in OT (bah!). And then there's M. Brisebois, whose swollen head does little to hide how small and cowering he is on defense against any kind of Bruin approaching.

Given the injuries, one of these three is definitely safe his spot. But the other two should not be allowed to hide their current play behind bit-parts in Stanley Cup finals in bygone years.

It's too easy to beat up on the players we expect more of who have given too little for our tastes. What about the players we should expect at least something from, but have returned nothing at all.

Let's all be a little bit honest. Streit on defence is the least of our worries.


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